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Performing Arts

June 23, 2017

Indecent is Here to Stay! (Sort Of)

by Elena Hoffenberg

For the first time, ever, I decided to watch the Tony Awards earlier this month. This is unusual for me; even Rachel Bloom hadn’t convinced me to be interested. I know next to nothing about theater, but having studied Yiddish and been fascinated by how we tell the stories of Jewish immigration to the United States, I had tickets next month to see Indecent, a drama about a Yiddish play that featured Broadway’s first on-stage lesbian kiss in 1923. I was excited to see how this play would fare at the awards show.

June 20, 2017

A Speck of Silverman

by Larisa Klebe

Sarah Silverman almost died last summer. It’s true! She went to the doctor for a sore throat that turned out to be a life-threatening case of epiglottitis, and she almost died. Thankfully, she survived, and went on to kill…in her newest comedy special that is! (I’ll be here all week folks). In Speck of Dust, Silverman delivers the type of no-holds-barred, crude, hilarious, smart comedy that we’ve all come to expect from her.

June 7, 2017

Can Wonder Woman Come Fix Our World Now, Please?

by Emily Cataneo

At the onset of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, protagonist Diana Prince has spent her millennia-long life on Themyscira, an idyllic Mediterranean colony of Amazonian women where she grows up learning badass warrior skills from wise matriarchs. The plot kicks off when an American pilot crash-lands off the island’s coast. He tells Diana, played by Israeli actress Gal Gadot, about a cataclysmic war raging back in the world of men, instigated by the bad guys. Who are the bad guys? she asks. He explains succinctly: the Germans.

May 23, 2017

Rama Burshtein’s “The Wedding Plan”

by Elena Hoffenberg

I did not know what to expect from a romantic comedy about a woman intent on getting married in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, but The Wedding Plan by Rama Burshtein is one of the most feminist films I’ve ever seen.

Isabelle Huppert
Isabelle Huppert has achieved international stardom for her ability to play geniuses, madwomen, criminals, and other larger-than-life heroines.

Rokhl Holzer
Rokhl Holzer earned a reputation as an actress with a talent for transforming herself to suit any role, but her most remarkable transformation may have been her shift from Poland to Australia’s Yiddish theater.

Hilde Holger
Hilde Sofer Holger’s choreography incorporated her interest in religion, politics, and the natural world, and provoked important discussions about the role of dance in the public sphere.

Amy Sherman-Palladino
Amy Sherman-Palladino has based her television career around telling women’s stories, most memorably in the beloved series Gilmore Girls.

Didi Conn
Didi Conn became famous for her role as Frenchy in Grease, then used her fame to advocate for autistic children and their families.
March 31, 2017

The Women of Star Wars: Princesses and Jedi

by Molly Pifko

When I was ten years old, I dressed up as Princess Leia for Halloween. I dressed up as her because I admired her, and because I felt like I had no choice. My brother and I were both deep in our Star Wars phases, and I knew I had to match his Darth Vader costume with an iconic character of my own. Of course, as a little girl, there weren’t many iconic female characters to choose from, but I didn’t mind too much at the time. 

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How to cite this page

Jewish Women's Archive. "Performing Arts." (Viewed on June 25, 2017) <https://jwa.org/topics/performing-arts>.

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